Reading Response to the New York Times article

“The Changing American Family” by Natalie Angier

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/health/families.html?src=me&_r=0

              In light of Thanksgiving, I read the article “The Changing American Family” by Natalie Angier, regarding the many ways in which families have evolved from the nuclear construct. Angier starts by offering various examples of modern-day American families, implying the variables which set the families apart from a ‘typical’ family and allowing the reader to predetermine some of the points she covers statistically later in the article. Many different subjects are addressed as disparities from the nuclear family, such as the voluntary kin movement, the desire to stay single, the ‘paycheck mommy’, gay marriage, as Angier shows that the shifts are possibly due to social, ethnic, racial, religious and stylistic diversity. She states that although the value of marriage is unchanging and financial resources continue in favor of marriage, statistics show decreases in marriage rates, birth rates, and soaring costs of supporting children. Angier ends with more personal stories and examples, tying the article up with the statement that “in America, family is at once about home and the next great frontier.”

          Angier’s tone is fairly neutral throughout the article, however the way in which she presents her points show clear implications of opinion. Some fascinating points that the writer presents are that contrary to popular belief that teen moms embody the majority of unmarried mothers, the most lie in the late 20s, early 30s range, as well as the statistical proof of the dip in the divorce rate since the 1980’s. I found the manner in which Angier presented her information to be clear and linear but with little connection and transition between the points. Her article made full circle as it ended with personal accounts, as it had begun, however the middle of her article was messy in delivery, as she listed determining factors, evolving characteristics and their effects in a jumbled order. The article, published a few days before Thanksgiving, did a nice job of justifying and accrediting the value of American families of all types, and although her article wasn’t exactly unified, her message was.

           After reading the article I turned to my own family and analyzed it in context. My family encompasses a new tangent of the typical family not discussed in the article: one of multiculturalism. My father and his family moved to the U.S. from Iran in the 80’s and 90’s, his mother never learning to speak English. My family speaks a combined total of four languages and we eat Persian dishes alongside the turkey and gravy for Thanksgiving. I am thankful for my international (Iranian, Indian, German, Swiss) background and the diverse array of cultural practices it’s given me. My family is far from the typical American family but nonetheless just as valuable, and the article outlines that sentiment just in time for the holiday honoring the American Family.